Just before daybreak on Sunday we set 2 set longlines at Kawakawa Bay. After letting them fish for 30 minutes we hauled them in for a total of 16 snapper, six of which were between four and six pounds.

We set one of the lines again at about 7.00am. As we hauled this set it looked like we only had a few keepers on and then this 13.5 lb moocher in the photo above appeared. It had taken a conventional 4/0 target hook (no float attached).

It lay flat on the top of the water and wouldn't fit into the net at first. The following photo shows some of the school that were target hooked! Paul Major Weymouth Boating Club

Photo left shows some of the school that were target hooked!

Paul Major Weymouth Boating Club

Amberly Beach is about 40 minutes drive north of Christchurch.

It is then a 30 minute walk to the beach.

It is a sand and shingle beach with a sand bar about 150 metres out from the high tide mark and as far as we know it is clear of snagsalong that bit of coast line.

We usually catch is kahawai, school shark, rig, elephant fish and seven gill sharks.

Ed : If you need to use "other" on your catch form please mention what species they were in your report. If anyone wants other species included let me know and I will add them.

Last week an avoidable incident between a surf ski and kite rig was reported at Orewa Beach.

A jet ski travelling at 85 kilometres an hour, 800 metres offshore, hit an unmarked kite longline rig and the rider was knocked from the surf ski.

The high speed impact with the line resulted in the rider getting a cut ear and forehead and some bruising around the cuts.

He rang me on Monday and was adamant that had there been a flag on the line above the float bottle, he would have seen it and been able to avoid it. Surprisingly, the jet ski rider is also a kite fisher!

To avoid this type of incident we recommend that all kitefishers who don't already have one, put a red and green flag on their rigs so that boaties can easily see where the line is.

If you can't make your own flag get yours here!

Our kite fishing flags are red sewn to the cord and green trailing.

The flag is sewn on to the cord 3 metres above the bottle loop.

The cord has a pre-tied loop at each end for tying into your kite rig and a pre-tied bottle loop is also provided.

View both in our secure shopping cart

Big Rig Flag

Suitable for all kite longline rigs and big dropper rigs.

Small Kite Rig Flag

Suitable for all small kite dropper rigs.

While the incident above involved a longline rig we also believe that, with the increasing popularity of kitefishing, kite dropper rig fishers who don't have flags on their lines should also fit one.

Big Rigs

All of Paul's Fishing Kites longline rigs already have flags on them but if you have made up your own rig we suggest you fit a flag of the same colours as ours.

The Paul's Fishing Kites conventional longline flags are red sewn to the cord and green trailing.

Our conventional longline flag is also perfect for the bigger 65kg dropper rigs.

If you wish to tie the flag in yourself you can order online, send us a cheque or call us for mail order.

If you want a flag professionally tied into your Paul's Fishing Kites 65 kg dropper rig call in to the shop and Rob will be pleased to do it for you.

Check out our fishing knot pages if you are tying a flag into your rig. We use the new uni knot on our rigs.

Small Rigs

For those with smaller rigs we have also recently made up a new flag of the same size sewn onto lighter cord.

The new light-weight flag is suitable for those using smaller rigs up to 35kg breaking strain like the flexiwing or pocket sled dropper rigs.

With the small rig flag simply unclip your bottle cord and clip the new flag between the dropline and leader line in it's place, no tying is required.

As we near the Christmas holidays beach usage will skyrocket as the masses who participate in water-based activities descend on their favourite beaches. Some beaches near large population centres or popular holiday destinations, which are nearly deserted for most of the year, are already filling.

In my opinion busy beaches should be avoided by kite and kon tiki fishers during the day unless it is blowing a gale, overcast or is deserted for some other reason. There are so many available beaches suitable for kite fishing in New Zealand there is no reason to interfere with the enjoyment of others.

With a government so willing to legislate over just about anything (like taxing cows for farting) it will only take one or two incidents and we could all see our activities limited.

Aaron Buxton rang the Civil Aviation Authority (CAA) regarding kite fishing at night from Orewa Beach.

He was informed of two possibilities:

You can either pay a fee to rent night airspace for an extended period of time or you can simply ring the local airport and inform them of the time you will be flying the kite and seek free nightly permission. Under both options the CAA then inform aviators to avoid the area.

For the second option they were told it would also be helpful if the kite carried a marker light to make it more visible. Kite lights should NOT be GREEN or RED as these colours are reserved for navigation. A white light is preferred and a white strobe is even better. Aaron was also asked to apply for more time than required so there was a good safety margin between airspace users.

Ed: The first option interests me. Wouldn't it be great if kite fishers chipped in and we collectively rented a decent chunk of airspace over the whole year which we could all use on any night for kitefishing. Anyone interested?